Everybody Loves Raymond

After nine seasons and 210 programs the TV sitcom, “Everybody Loves Raymond” aired its last episode. At the time it ended, it was the most popular TV comedy show on the air. Raymond, the star of the program, was the highest paid comic in the history of television. Evidently, a lot of people love Raymond. A confession is in order. I too love Raymond. I do not watch much TV. When I do, I watch the news, the business channel and the history channel. Several years ago, someone introduced my wife and me to Raymond and we both fell (head over heels) in love with Raymond. We even watch reruns!

It is a well-written, funny sitcom. Patricia and I found ourselves laughing aloud in virtually every episode. Some of the one-liners were one of a kind. We love Raymond because we enjoy humor.

The characters of “Raymond” are an interesting lot. Raymond is a clueless husband. Debra, his wife, is a frustrated, under-appreciated wife. Raymond’s parents, who live across the street, are classic in-laws. Marie is a noisy, pushy, controlling, opinionated mother and mother-in-law. Frank is a self-centered, blunt fellow who is always eating. All Raymond thinks about is sex and all Frank thinks about is food.

Then, there is Robert, the older brother, who lives in the shadow of his younger brother Raymond. He always feels like the second-fiddle, second-class, last-in-line brother. There are other characters. Robert is married to Amy, who is upbeat, but a little dingy. She has religious parents, who are “strange” and a brother who is “weird.”

When I first saw the show, I wondered how it got its title. I assumed, by the title, that Raymond was a likable, lovable fellow. I soon discovered that Raymond had foibles and failures a plenty. At one time or another, everyone, including his kids, was down on Raymond, especially his wife and his brother. Sometimes, his mother came to his defense, but rarely, if ever, did his wife or brother. I thought they should have named the show, “Poor Raymond.”

I was wrong! The last episode dramatically portrayed that everyone, including wife and brother, really does love Raymond. In the final program, Raymond had a minor operation and, for about thirty seconds, everyone thought Raymond was not coming out of it alive. They panicked, even wife and brother. As a result, it was apparent that they really did love Raymond, warts and all.